Chelsea sign Papy Djilobodji from Ligue 1 side Nantes

Senegal defender Papy Djilobodji has signed a four-year deal with Chelsea, Nantes have announced.

The Premier League champions made their move for the 27-year-old after seeing their overtures for Everton's John Stones repeatedly rebuffed.

Chelsea have conceded nine goals in four games in accruing four points to sit eight adrift of leaders Manchester City.

Chelsea were still to officially confirm the deal.

Ligue 1 club Nantes said in a statement on their website: "FC Nantes, Chelsea and Papy Djilobodji have reached an agreement for the transfer of the Senegalese international. Papy Djilobodji is a player of Blues for the next four seasons.

"FC Nantes extends its congratulations and wishes him well for the rest of his career."

Reports in the French media on Monday said a deal of around three million euros (£2.2m) for Djilobodji. It is less than 10 per cent of the sum offered for Stones.

Djilobodji had one year remaining on his Nantes contract and his likely switch to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea is unexpected.

It has been reported other Premier League clubs rejected the opportunity to sign him, but now he is playing for the defending champions and in the Champions League.

What to expect on transfer deadline day

What to expect on transfer deadline day

1/10
Arsenal will buy a player they don't need

Andre Santos. Kim Kallstrom. Maybe even Mesut Ozil. A tough start and the pressure on Arsene Wenger to break open the war chest grows intolerable. But he doesn’t always buy the player he needs. Last summer there were gaping holes at centre-back and defensive midfield. Who did Arsenal end up with? Danny Welbeck.

2/10
David Gold won't let you go to bed

West Ham leave their transfer business late. Very late. So late that in January club co-chairman David Gold told fans: “Don’t go to bed”. Would he sign Emmanuel Adebayor? Or someone more shocking. No, a last minute deal fell through. The window might run until 18:00 but the Hammers are likely to carry on right up to the wire.

3/10
Tottenham take it to the last second

Yes Mauricio Pochettino has been keen on Victor Wanyama for months. But Daniel Levy will not pay a penny more than he has to for a transfer target, expect any Spurs deal to go down to the wire. And a few hours beyond.

4/10
Shock transfers at the Sky Sports New desk

For years Natalie Sawyer was the established choice to share presenting duties with the bizarre Scottish man who spends the dying hours of deadline day interrupting his colleagues to take phone calls live on air. Kate Abdo made the shock move up in January, will she be a permanent replacement?

5/10
Everyone has a friend at Heathrow

Yes, a lot of people work at London’s airports. But it’s hard to believe that they all have access to the travel details of Edinson Cavani, Kaka, Falcao and Nikica Jelavic. And yet anonymous workers across the country will suddenly decide to email in with who they’ve spotted landing from Europe.

6/10
Mass loan departures from Chelsea

Nathaniel Chalobah, Marko Marin and Mohamed Salah have all been cleared out but there’s surely still a cupboard in Carrington filled with once-bright European prospects ready to be farmed out to Vitesse Arnhem, Nottingham Forest and, if they’re really good, Milan.

7/10
Someone get Harry Redknapp a car

We don’t care that he’s out of the management game. Deadline day just won’t be the same without the former Spurs boss, and a deal for a highly-rated English prospect.

8/10
A high-profile deal will take too long to complete, failed medical rumours will swirl

You may already know who your club is going to sign. But where is that confirmation tweet, maybe with #WelcomeKarim (if only you were so lucky Arsenal fans). As the deadline ticks ever closer an “ITK” former football agent will tweet about a medical being failed. Suddenly panic will strike supporters. The player’s arrival will be confirmed an hour later.

9/10
A Championship striker costs how much?

Ross McCormack. Andre Gray. Striker valuations in the second division of English football are becoming ever more spectacular. Who will be the latest goal-getter to attract a big money deal. Charlie Austin could be off for £15 million. And how much for former Arsenal striker Benik Afobe, currently firing them in at Wolves?

10/10
Time to gamble on a mercurial playmaker

In one window alone Hull City’s Steve Bruce took all his eggs and placed them in baskets marked “Robert Snodgrass”, “Gaston Ramirez” and, most eerily of all, “Hatem Ben Arfa”. Hull were relegated that season. But that won’t stop managers at the bottom of the league convincing themselves they’ll be the ones to find the hidden potential in an Erik Lamela, Morgan Amalfitano or Scott Sinclair.

The Blues have signed goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, left-back Baba Rahman and striker Radamel Falcao on loan from Monaco - all like-for-like replacements for the departed Petr Cech, Filipe Luis and Didier Drogba.

Pedro was added from Barcelona and Victor Moses signed a four-year deal before joining the ranks of loan departures, making a season-long switch to West Ham.